Chapter 2454: True Immortal Descends Battle Begins

The four colossal beasts exchanged glances, then suddenly opened their immense mouths simultaneously. Dense, dark wind blades immediately surged out like a torrential downpour, streaking towards the blood-red giants and covering the sky.

These black wind blades were clearly different from ordinary ones. Not only did they flicker in and out of existence like ghosts as they flew, but when they struck the blood-red giants, they vanished into thin air along with large chunks of flesh in a mere flash of black light.

The four beasts themselves suddenly blurred, their massive bodies lunging forward right after the wind blades. With another swing of their front limbs, streaks of cold black light immediately slashed down from the air.

The blood-red giants, completely fearless, lunged forward with their two massive hands, unleashing rolling blood energy. Simultaneously, the blood-red tentacles on their backs, dancing wildly, transformed into a blood curtain to meet the onslaught.

Although these blood-red giants were instantly covered in wounds and clearly no match for the Black Kirin Beasts, they had the advantage of immortality. No matter how much their bodies were torn or cut, they would immediately recover after the blood river surged over them from behind.

Even though the four Black Kirin Beasts had the upper hand, they showed some apprehension towards the giants' tentacles. As a result, both sides found themselves in a stalemate for a time.

“Master, allow me to lend a hand as well. Although these Black Kirin Beasts are troublesome, your subordinate happens to know some of their weaknesses,” Yang Lu respectfully said to Ma Liang, observing the situation.

“No need. These four Blood Spirits have only recently been refined; there’s no harm in letting them gain more combat experience. As for you, I have another important task for you,” Ma Liang said calmly, observing the distant battle.

“Your subordinate awaits your command!” Yang Lu’s heart tensed, and he replied respectfully.

“I have already secretly cast a spell to observe it. This formation should have two core points. Go and destroy one of them for me. Once a core point is broken, I won’t need to use most of my magic power to resist the formation’s restrictions, and I can then use decisive means to capture all of them in one fell swoop,” Ma Liang said without hesitation.

“Understood. Your subordinate will go immediately. But how will Master deal with the other core point?” Yang Lu bowed in agreement, then asked with slight hesitation.

“Hmph, just do what you’re supposed to do. You don’t need to worry about the other core point,” Ma Liang said with a cold snort, his expression darkening.

“Yes, your subordinate spoke out of turn. I hope Master will not blame me. I will go and destroy that core point immediately,” Yang Lu said, his heart chilling, as he hastily lowered his head.

“Wait. I have two more things to give you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Liang raised his hand and gestured towards the sky. Immediately, the colossal umbrella covering the blood river pulsed with light, and a mass of green light shot down from it. After a flicker, it transformed into another miniature umbrella, several inches long. With his other hand, he pointed a finger between his eyebrows, and a glistening spherical bead surged forth.

“Catch these! This Mind Bead contains the location of the core point I just sensed. Take it, and it will allow you to find the precise location, and I will also know your situation at any time. This Azure Chaos Umbrella avatar can nullify the restrictions of the barrier formation on you, but its duration is limited, so you’d best be quick,” Ma Liang ordered in a deep voice after tossing the two items.

“Master, rest assured, your subordinate will not disappoint you,” Yang Lu said solemnly, catching the two items.

He then tossed the small umbrella in front of him, and it immediately transformed into a curtain of green light, enveloping his entire body. After sweeping his divine sense into the bead, he rolled on the ground, revealing his true form: a beast with a deer's head and a bear's body.

Then, a sound of tearing through the air echoed!

The colossal beast surged out of the blood river, plunging headlong into a cluster of giant banners in a certain direction, and vanished from sight amidst a swirl of light.

Ma Liang watched Yang Lu depart. Then, he shook his sleeve, and a crimson jade box flew out. He pointed a finger at it.

With a "bang"!

The box lid flew open, and a crimson miniature figure, adorned with several golden talismans, floated out.

The figure appeared to be only half a foot tall, with long crimson hair and a ghost-face mask. Its eyes were tightly shut, and its entire body was covered in crimson spiritual patterns, faintly emitting threads of red light.

Ma Liang looked at the miniature figure, a hint of solemnity appearing on his face for the first time. However, his movements showed no hesitation; he formed a hand seal with one hand and sent out a silver ray.

The silver ray flashed and vanished, disappearing into the crimson figure’s body.

The next moment, all the golden talismans on the crimson figure silently drifted down, and the closed eyes on the ghost mask slowly opened, revealing a pair of dull, lifeless red eyes.

Without a word, Ma Liang activated his magic power between his eyebrows, causing another Mind Crystal Bead to emerge. With a flick of his finger, he sent it into the miniature figure’s body as well.

“Go, destroy the other core point. If anyone tries to stop you, kill them,” Ma Liang said word by word, staring into the figure’s eyes.

The crimson figure’s red eyes flickered slightly. It then moved its body, soaring into the air, circled once, and transformed into a long crimson rainbow, tearing through the air as it departed.

The external laws of power seemed to have no effect on it whatsoever.

On the full moon, Venerable Ming, who was overseeing the situation and had not participated in the attack, observed these developments. His expression changed slightly, but after a moment’s thought, he turned to Six-Wing, who also had not acted due to significant energy depletion, and said:

“Fellow Daoist Six-Wing, it seems the enemy has discovered the location of the core points. Although Fellow Daoist Han and the siblings Yun Dan and Yue Shu have already been sent to guard them, just in case, I ask you to go and obstruct them, doing your best to delay their approach to the core point.”

“Do you think I, in my current state, can still hold them back, Brother Ming?” Six-Wing, who had also witnessed the previous scene, said, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t worry, this old man naturally wouldn’t ask you to clash head-on. I have a formation plate here, refined from a fragment of a Profound Heaven treasure. As long as you activate this treasure, you can trap the enemy for a period. If they manage to break free, you can calmly retreat,” Venerable Ming said without anger.

“If it’s just running an errand, then it’s fine. All right, bring out that formation plate. If it truly has the ability to trap enemies, I can make this trip,” Six-Wing said, nodding reluctantly after a moment of thought.

Venerable Ming smiled slightly, shook his wrist, and tossed over a prepared milky-white circular plate.

Six-Wing made a gesture with one hand, and the formation plate silently flew into his grasp. After lowering his head and examining it for a moment, he nodded to Venerable Ming with a slightly eased expression.

“Fellow Daoist Ice Phoenix, go with him and lend Fellow Daoist Six-Wing a hand,” Venerable Ming also said to Ice Phoenix, who was standing nearby.

“Very well. This battle concerns our lives, so it is only right that we exert more effort,” Ice Phoenix replied with a charming smile, readily agreeing.

Venerable Ming showed a satisfied expression upon hearing this. He made a grasping motion in the air with one hand, and a translucent black small banner suddenly appeared in his palm. He then pointed it towards Six-Wing and Ice Phoenix.

With a "boom"!

A fluctuation rose beneath them, and a dazzling, multi-colored light formation appeared out of thin air. With a swift rotation, it instantly teleported them away amidst a buzzing sound.

“Venerable Ming, do you need me to go to the other location? It seems I won’t be needed here for the time being,” Xuan Jiuling’s voice suddenly came from beneath Venerable Ming’s feet.

“Are you confident you can deal with that red miniature figure? If you were to fall into the enemy’s hands instead, it would be no laughing matter,” Venerable Ming hesitated slightly.

“Don’t worry, though that thing’s aura is somewhat strange, it’s at most a transformed spirit beast or monster. My cultivation technique happens to restrain them, so dealing with it will be a simple matter, and it certainly won’t delay things here. Besides, if I don’t act, are you going to go yourself? Only you can control the overall situation with the power of the formation here!” Xuan Jiuling’s voice still came unhurriedly.

“All right, since you’ve put it that way, there’s no other choice. But if I send you over, don’t waste any time. Immediately use decisive means to kill the opponent, then teleport back at once,” Venerable Ming thought for a moment before agreeing.

“Don’t you have faith in my abilities? Going and returning won’t take more than the time it takes to eat a meal,” Xuan Jiuling laughed heartily.

Then, a fluctuation appeared before Venerable Ming, and the figure of a middle-aged man in a gray robe with an ordinary face gradually emerged.

Venerable Ming raised the small black banner in his hand and, pointing its tip in front of him, caused another five-colored light formation to emerge. After a swirl of dazzling light, the middle-aged man also silently vanished from sight.

Below, in the blood river, Ma Liang’s golden eyes narrowed. He also witnessed Venerable Ming’s actions on the full moon from afar. However, apart from a faint cold smile on his face, he made no further moves, merely remaining in the blood river, observing the fierce battles in the surrounding areas.

Seeing this, Venerable Ming was naturally pleased with his formidable enemy’s state. He, too, remained on the full moon, composed as if sitting on a fishing platform, making no other moves.

Han Li remained cross-legged beneath the altar, his eyes slightly closed, appearing to be meditating and recuperating.

Suddenly, his expression shifted. His eyes snapped open, and he gazed in a certain distant direction with some surprise.

Almost simultaneously, a faint rumbling sound came from the horizon in that direction, and a wave of fluctuations surged forth. Due to the great distance, it posed no threat to the core point. However, the nearly thousand armored soldiers of the Merchant Alliance guarding the core point immediately adopted a vigilant stance, their expressions grim as if facing a formidable enemy.

Han Li’s eyes narrowed slightly, blue light flickering in his pupils. His gaze instantly spanned thousands of miles, taking in everything in the distance with perfect clarity.

He saw a colossal milky-white light formation that had appeared out of nowhere in the mid-air, which should have been empty.

Inside this light formation, a rumbling sound shook the heavens. A massive black shadow, tens of zhang tall, vaguely struggled within, charging left and right, yet it remained unable to break out of the white light.

Directly above the light formation, a man and a woman were suspended side by side.

The woman wore a silver robe, beautiful but with a cold expression. The man wore a white robe, and his face was strikingly marked with golden and silver tattooed spiritual patterns on both sides.

“Oh, it’s her! So, that means the person next to her is my Six-Wing,” Han Li’s spiritual gaze swept over the woman but then landed on the white-robed man’s face, which bore some resemblance to his own. He felt a hint of surprise but showed a half-smile on his face.